Suchergebnisse

The use of merit pay is increasing in public institutions. The prevalence of merit pay has extended to public universities to evaluate faculty performance. A general perception is that faculty scholarship is disproportionably used relative to instructional and service activities in assessing whether merit pay is warranted. Yet, little actual empirical research has been conducted to predict what components of faculty performance lead to merit pay awards. A survey concerning perceptions of faculty performance and subsequent merit pay was distributed to the entire faculty of a large public eastern research university. Logistic regression analysis found faculty research activities were significantly more predictive of merit pay receipt compared to instructional and service performance. Female faculty members were less supportive of merit pay compared to their male colleagues and perceived less improvement in their overall performance post merit pay awards.

Insufficient retirement savings behavior practiced by a significant number of employees underscores the importance of understanding the characteristics of those individuals most likely to choose the default contribution and asset allocation vehicles of an organization. We conducted an experiment of savings behavior involving 217 subjects asked to make choices about allocating 401(k) funds and investing those funds in investment vehicles. Individuals who specified their own allocation amounts invested significantly more money versus those who accepted a default. Psychological and demographic factors also predicted higher investment dollars and higher-risk investment choices. Changes in ambiguity tolerance significantly affected men's decisions to choose high-risk investments for their 401(k) dollars, but these psychological variables did not affect women's high-risk investment decisions. We offer implications for future research and practice.